Boeing set to land dollars 5bn China order: US decision on trade status paves way for sales

BOEING appears close to selling China another dollars 5bn worth of commercial aircraft, following yesterday's decision by President Bill Clinton to renew Peking's tariff status as a 'most-favoured nation'.

Word of the potential sale to Air China, which could total 50 aircraft, was leaked to the US business press on the eve of the trade- status announcement, apparently to warn Washington against attaching conditions to the renewal.

The Chinese government had said it would not accept any linking of trade with human-rights demands by Washington. There were reports that Air China was prepared to order its jets from the Airbus consortium if the tariff preference was not renewed.

The sale - which would add to dollars 3bn worth of Boeing aircraft already on order from other regional Chinese airlines - would include 15 of its new wide-bodied 777 model, and equal numbers of the narrow 757 and smaller 737 planes. Air China, based in Peking, would also buy several 747- 400 jumbo jets.

Some analysts expressed concern yesterday that the negotiations might lag now that the trade- status issue had been resolved.

Boeing said it was premature to speculate about an order. 'Certainly China has been a very good customer of ours in the past. We have continued to work very closely with the Chinese and would look forward to future success with them,' a spokesman said.

China has been Boeing's biggest customer over the past two years, accounting for about one out of every seven planes ordered from the company at a time when Western airlines have curtailed their orders because of the industry downturn.